Hose-supporter.



No. 638,540. 4 Patented Dec. 5, I899. E. F. YOUNG.

HOSE SUPPORTEB. 7

(Application filed Oct. 19, 1897.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELLA FOSTER YOUNG, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

HOSE-SUPPORTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 638,540, dated December5, 1899.

Application filed October 19, 1897. Serial No. 655,755. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELLA FOSTER YOUNG, a citizen of the United States,residingin the city and county of San Francisco and State of California,have invented anew and useful Hose-Supporter, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to combined abdominal pads and hose-supporters, andhas for its object to provide a device of this character which willserve not only to supportthe hose in an efficient manner and in such away as to avoid objections attendant upon hose-supporters as heretoforeconstructed, but will also serve to aid in producing a proper carriageof the body of the wearer and in maintaining the abdominal viscera inproper position.

To these ends my invention consists in certain novel features, which Iwill now proceed to describe and will then particularly point out in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of myimproved hose-supporter, the elastic sections of the hose-supportingstraps and their clasps and buckles omitted. Figs. 2 and 3 are views ofthe elastic sections of the straps with their clasps and buckles, andFig. 4: is a View showing the device as applied to the figure.

Referring more particularly to the said drawings, 5 indicates theabdominal pad, which is a fiat pad having a continuous integral bodywith a smooth unbroken contact or bearing surface and of a size such asto cover the upper central portion of the hypogastric region of theabdomen. This pad has secured to its upper portion, at one side thereof,a strap 6, which is adapted to pass around the waist of the wearer andto have its free end connected to the other side of the pad 5 in anysuitable manner-as, for example, by means of a buckle 7 or othersuitable fastening device, with which engages a short strap 8, connectedto the upper portion of the pad5 at that side thereof. This arrangementbrings the fastening device well to the front and renders it readilyaccessible for connecting and disconnecting the same. To the bottom orlower edge of the pad 5 are connected four hose-supporting straps 9, 10,11, and 12, said straps being each provided with a clasp 13 at its lowerend suitably constructed to adapt it for engagement with the hose.Furthermore, in order to adjust said straps as to their length they areeach preferably made in two sections connected together bybuckle-'clasps 14,.so that the point of connection between the lowersections 15 of said straps and the upper sections may be varied so as toregulate the length between the clasps 13 and the pad 5. I also preferto so construct these straps that each of them comprises an elasticsection, and in the construction shown the lower portion 15 of eachstrap is made of elastic material.

In applying my improved abdominal pad and hose-supporter the pad isplaced in position,with its center over the most prominent portion ofthe abdomen, and the strap or band 6 is fastened around the waist insuch a way as to support the pad in this position, as clearly shown inFig. 2 of the drawings. The outermost hose-supporting straps 9 and 10are then connected to the top of the hose just inside of the knee, beingin substantial parallelism to each other, as showuin said Fig. 2,whilethe inside straps 11 and 12 are passed over the outside straps andattached to the hose at the outside of the knee, as clearly shown insaid figure. The straps may obviously be lengthened or shortened, asdesired, to adjust them to the requirements of each particular case.Itwill be seen that by reason of this construction the pull of thehose-supporting straps upon the pad serves not only to hold this latterfirmly in position, and thereby depress the abdomen and while causingthe chest to be thrown out prevent the corset from projecting orbreaking at the waist-line in front, but also to exert a pull upon thebelt at the back downward and forward, thus tending to give an inwardcurvature to the spine at the waist line and to cause the wearer toassume an upright position. Moreover,this particular mode of connectingand locating the hose-supporting straps obviates the disadvantageattendant upon their connection at points above or back of the hips,since with such a construction the straps draw over the hips and tend tochafe and cut the persona-a difficultywhich is entirely obviated withthe particular construction which I have devised and which is shown inthe accompanying drawings.

It will be further observed that the pad is upheld by connections madeto its upper edge and that the hose-straps are connected to its loweredge. By reason of this form of connection the strain upon the pad isexerted upon its opposite horizontal edges, or, in other words, is insubstantially vertical lines.

My invention is to be distinguished from that class of devices known asabdominal supporters and which are usually in the form of a belt or bandcovering the entire or the greater portion of the abdomen. These devicesare usually provided with inelastic portions extending around the waist,and compression is effected by shortening the length of the bandage.These abdominal belts or bandages are effective in reducing the diameterof the body; but the pressure is of course greatest on the longest axis,which varies Widely in different persons. With such devices the pressureis distributed and cannot be localized over a particular area. My deviceoperates upon a different principle and is intended for a difierentpurpose. It comprises a pad capable of effecting the repression of aparticular part of the body, and the pressure is localized instead ofbeing distributed. The hose-supporter cooperates in securing the resultor object sought in the employment of the pad by affording means forstraining the pad over the region to be repressed, and by reason of thepeculiar arrangement of the connections of the hose-supporting strapsthe pad is prevented from lateral displacement.

I claim 1. In a combined abdominal pad and hosesupporter,the combinationwith a flat abdominal pad having a continuous integral body with asmooth unbroken bearing or contact surface and of a size about equal tothat of the upper central portion of the hypogastric region, of supportsattached to said pad at its upper edge and hose-supporting strapsattached to the lower edge of said pad, whereby in use strain is appliedto said pad in substantially vertical lines and the pressure islocalized, substantially as described.

2. In a combined abdominal pad and hosesupporter, the combination with acontinuous, integral flat body having a smooth, unbroken bearing orcontact surface, of a strap secured to the upper edge portion of saidpad and adapted to pass around the body and having a fastening forattaching it to the upper edge of the pad, hose-supporting strapssecured to the outer lower edge of said pad, extending thence downwardin substantial parallelism and adapted to be connected to the hose onthe inner side of the leg and other longer hose-supporting strapssecured to the lower edge of the pad between the first-mew tion edhose-supporting straps and adapted to be carried outward across them andto be secured to the hose on the outer side of the leg, substantially asdescribed,

ELLA FOSTER YOUNG.

Witnesses: J. G. HENNINGER, FRED. CARLSEN.

